Intro To Online Databases Fall09
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This document provides an introduction to searching online databases. It explains that databases are accessed through the library and are not available on the public web. It then describes different parts of a database record like the title, author, source, and subject headings. Finally, it discusses the differences between keyword searching using Boolean logic and subject searching using controlled vocabularies and subject headings.
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Intro To Online Databases Fall09
- 3. Databases are Parts of Systems America: History & Life Business Source Premier Textile Technology Index Garden Landscape & Horticulture Index Academic Search Premier GreenFILE Regional Business News E-Journals Historical Abstracts SOC INDEX FT
- 4. Searching 2 EBSCO System Databases Business Source Premier Textile Technology Index Marketing Manufacture Eco-friendly Textiles
- 6. AND TEXTILES AND MARKETING OR MANUFACTURE OR PRODUCE NOT SATURN NOT CAR
- 15. The End Now you know the basics of online searching!
Editor's Notes
- We subscribe to several different Systems: ProQuest, EBSCO, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Lexis/Nexis. We also subscribe to E-journal collections and E-books and some specialty resources like StyleSight and CIAO, but this presentation is concerned with the more basic idea of an “aggregated database system” that we use to get articles from sources that also exist in print. For instance, in from the EBSCO System, we subscribe to America History and Life, Historical Abstracts, Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, SocINDEX, Textile Technology Index and for free they throw in E-Journals and GreenFILE. All these databases contain information according to different subjects or disciplines. Academic Search Premier, though, is what we call an “Interdisciplinary” database, because it contains a wide variety of information, pertaining to a number of disciplines.
- What is a periodical database? It is a database of articles from “periodicals”, which could be magazines, journals, newspapers, or trade publications. Some databases also include publications from the government, or special newsletters from professional organizations and associations. Imagine that each of these rectangles is an article from a magazine or journal, from the various subjects indicated. Each article is entered into the database, where it becomes an individual database “record”. These records are searchable. By using the different features on the database interface, you could find, for example, articles about the marketing of a specific type of textile product to a particular type of consumer, in a certain part of the world . You might look in Business Source Premier for this information, or , you might look in Textile Technology Index, or, you might try to search both databases at the same time, since they are in the same system (EBSCO). We find an intersection of the articles that have the information we need
- The Boolean Operators AND, OR, NOT are integral to online searching. Searching an online database is different than searching on the Internet using a search engine. You have to “talk to the database” by combining and conceptually linking your search terms with each other, using different “operators”. Boolean Operators are one type, “Proximity Operators” (that specify how close or how far away from each other you will allow you terms to appear in the record) are another type.
- Here is a graphical representation of what Boolean operators do when you use them in a search statement.The striped areas indicate the set of records that will be retrieved when you use the different operators. AND: will NARROW your search. The search statement is asking the database to bring back only the records that include BOTH the terms indicated. OR: BROADENS your search. Use OR to connect synonyms in your search statement. You are saying that it’s OK for the database to bring you records including either of the terms, because these terms essentially mean the same thing. Always try to think of synonyms for your search terms. Different authors may use different terms to describe your concept, and the database won’t retrieve those articles, because you didn’t specify the alternate terms could be searched. NOT: Is rarely used, but can be helpful sometimes. NOT Removes irrelevant records from your search. Sometimes, a term is commonly taken out of context, and it is necessary to specify how you want your term to be used.
- These are the basic parts of a record from a full-text periodical database . These parts are called “fields” (that’s database lingo). Sometimes, a database will call fields “indexes” instead of “fields”. No matter what they are called, what is important is that the fields (or indexes) are SEARCHABLE. Online databases allow you to specify in which fields you want your search terms to appear. The fields pictured here are minimal: different full-text periodical databases will usually have additional fields. Note: Databases that are NOT full text—like Avery Index--will have LESS fields, lacking the TEXT and sometimes also the ABSTRACT fields. Lets briefly discuss the various fields.
- Together, these fields form the citation information for the article. When you make your Bibliography, this information is what you need for a magazine, journal, or newspaper article. If you are lacking any of these elements, your citation is incomplete. Note: TITLE: refers to the TITLE OF THE ARTICLE SOURCE: refers to the TITLE OF THE PUBLICATION (the source) ISSUE NUMBER: not all publications have Issue Numbers VOLUME NUMBER: some publications will indicate a Month (ex: June/July) instead of a Volume Number
- The ABSTRACT is a summary of the article. It relates the highlights and basic thrust of what the article is about. Some abstracts are quite informative, for example, abstracts from technical or scholarly sources sometimes relate a summary of the findings of a scientific investigation, including the conclusions that were reached by the researchers. Other abstracts are less informative. The main purpose of the abstract is to help you decide if reading the full TEXT of the article is worthwhile. Note: Abstracts are NOT substitutes for the articles themselves. Just reading the abstract is not acceptable: you must track down the full-text of the article itself. If you specify that your search terms appear in the Citation (which includes the Title of the article) or in the Abstract, chances are that your terms and the concepts they represent are going to be relevant to the main ideas presented in the article.
- SUBJECT HEADINGS are the part of the database record that can really help you speed up your research. Different databases have different names for “subject headings”: sometimes they are called “descriptors”, sometimes “identifiers.” Again, this is just more database lingo. No matter what they are called, subject headings are what is known as CONTROLLED VOCABULARY. Subject headings are one-two word terms or short phrases that concisely describe the main concepts that are covered in the article. (They are sort of like the Abstract). Note: The exact terms used as Subject Headings and other controlled vocabularies DIFFER between databases. However, trying a subject heading that worked well in one database is a good way to initiate a search in a different database. If available, you will have to learn to use the features in each database that list the official Subject Headings used by that database.
- In many database systems, the default search option is “Citation and Abstract.” In addition to the citation information and the abstract though, the Subject headings and other searchable fields that are often considered subject headings when you are in a book catalog are also searched. Some of these additional searchable fields that are like subject headings include GEOGRAPHIC NAMES (LOCATION), COMPANY / ORGANIZATION (COMPANY/ORG), & PERSONAL NAME (PERSON) fields.
- In a full-text database, the TEXT of the article itself is also a searchable field. (Based on what you’ve learned so far, can you see how searching within the full-text of an entire article can have both positives and negatives?) Searching within the full-text of an article can help uncover a piece of information that was hard to find. However, your search terms can be taken completely out of context, and, unless you qualify your search statements with proximity operators, your search terms might be so far away from each other in the text of the article, that they are conceptually unrelated to one another. For example: searching in the Text field for textiles AND marketing only ensures that both terms APPEAR somewhere in the full text of the record, not that the term “marketing”, when it does appear, is discussing the marketing of “textiles.” Note: Searching within the Citation/Abstract fields is usually a better way to start. If this doesn’t work, however, first try altering your search terms, and then try to BROADEN your search by selecting the Full Text as the field to search.
- Keyword Searching is what people commonly do, and it can work just fine. Keyword Searching is broade r than Subject Searching. Unlike Subject Searching, Keyword Searching is not limited to only the Subject field: the database will look for your terms in several parts of the record, sometimes including the entire full-text of the article. Keyword Searching can help get you started, and, as you are searching and finding information, you will discover better terms to use to improve your searches. Eventually, during the course of your research, you will probably use a combination of Keyword and Subject Searching.
- Unlike Keyword Searching, Subject Searching limits the database to searching within the Subject field. Different databases use specific subject terms to describe concepts. The databases have big lists of terms (a thesaurus) that constitutes their particular CONTROLLED VOCABULARY. For example, a database might apply the term “automobile” to all their records that concern cars, or specific makes of cars. If “automobiles” is the “official” subject heading, the database WILL NOT use the term “cars”, ever, to describe the articles about what we might commonly call “cars”. The term “automobiles” will consistently be used instead. So, although subject searching can sometimes be tricky, if you can find out which subject headings a database uses to describe what you are trying to find out, you can very quickly find a wealth of information that is very closely focused on your research topic. Use subject headings to help you refine and revise your search statements: search within the Subject field, if you get a good subject heading. Note: In online database, the Subject Headings and terms in additional controlled vocabulary fields are HYPERLINKED: you can quickly retrieve many more articles that are substantially concerned with your topic. However, you will probably have to combine multiple Subject terms with AND to adequately focus your search.